Tufting button



Jul 26, 1938. R E v 2,124,859

TUFTING BUTTON Filed 001. 24, 1935 INVENTOR,

' TTORNEY.

Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED TATELS F F l C E 3 Claims.

This invention relates in general to tufting buttons, and in particular to tufting buttons having projecting portions thereon adapted to receive the securing thread, and coordinately therewith it relates to a method for manufacturing such buttons.

In this application I have disclosed by way of illustration, two embodiments of :my invention in the form ,of tufting buttons for mattresses but it will be obvious that .as to certain phases thereof my invention may have other applications.

Among the objects of my invention are to produce a tuf-ting button of simple, inexpensive construction and one that is highly effective in application, and to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective method for the manufacture of such buttons.

To attain these objects and such other objects as will hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I

have disclosed several embodiments of my inventionin the drawing, in which':

Figure 1 illustrates the initial stage in the manufacture of one form of my invention, and represents a blank stamped from a sheet of material;

Figure 2 illustrates the blank of Figure 1 after it has been modified by a manufacturing operation; Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is front -elevational view of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a front elevational View representmg .a further stage in the manufacture of my button;

Figure 6 is an end elevation corresponding to the showing of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a front elevation of the finished button;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the finished button;

Figure 9 is a view corresponding to Figure 2, of a modified construction in an intermediate stage of manufacture; and

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a finished button corresponding to the modified construction of Figure 9.

Referring to the drawing in detail it will be observed that in Figure 1 I show a blank A formed out of sheet material and contoured so that it has a central body portion, 12, shown as substantially circular, and from this body portion there spring two lateral extensions l4 and I6, each provided with a hook at its outer end.

It Will be observed that thehook [8 carried by the extension 14 faces in the opposite direction tram ails q ,0 ar ied by t e e i n L The blank A may next be subjected to a forming process by which it is concaved through sub- 5 stanti ally its entire extent, this being for the pu po of akin t e ha c st uct n more rigid, so that thinner material may be used. This concaving .is apparent from Figure 3. In addition to the concaving operation both of the 'ter- 10 minal portions 22 and 2,4 of the respective hooks are shown as having been bent slightly downwardly, as clearly appears fromFigure 4, which is a side elevation of Figure 2, and it will be observed that the terminal portions are both :IQQnt 15 downwardly, that is both bent in the same direction.

-It is to be understood that while the concaving hereinabove described is of advantage, that for certain purposes it may be omitted. 20

In Figure 5 the extensions 15 and 14 have been shown as bent substantially at right angles to the body portion 12, and it will 'be observed that the bent 'terminalportion s 22 and. of the-hooks face inwardly toward each other and that the 25 hooks, while assuming a parallel position, still open in opDOSite directions, as will appear from Figure ,6. It'will also be observed that the body portion I 2, has been given a decidedly dished conformation. 30

The final stage in the manufacture of the button is indicatedin Figure 7, which shows the finished article. As there shown the extensions .14 and {5 have been bent intermediate their ends so that the portions thereof adjacent to the body 35 portion l2 lie in substantial parallelism with said body portion, while the outer portions of said extensions project outwardly at right angles to the body portion and are parallel to each other so that the bent terminal portion of each hook 40 is in contact with an intermediate portion of the adjacent hook.

On referring to Figure 8, which is a perspective view of the finished article, and also to Figure 7, the advantages of my construction 45 will become apparent. It will be observed that a thread may be inserted into the closed opening 26 formed by the hooks l8 and 20 by introducing the same into the space between the hooks (see Figure 7) so that it passes the bent g portions 24 and 22, after passing which bent portions it is positioned within the opening 26. Due to the slight angle given to the bent portions it is very obvious that they offer no obstacle to the entry of the thread beyond that due to the re- 55 sistance of the parts M and IE to bending, but rather act as guides for the same, and that once the thread is in the opening 26 it cannot readily be withdrawn therefrom, because the inclination of surfaces 28 and 30 of the bent portions is such that the thread will ordinarily be guided away from the tips of the hooks 22 and 24, and will slide back into the inner portions of the opening 26.

It is obviously of advantage if the material used has sufiicient resiliency to cause the bent portions 22 and 24 to maintain their contact with the portions of the adjacent hook, so that if these portions have been separated, their contact will be automatically restored. For this purpose the material may be selected with this end in view. It is further to be observed that many ordinary commercial metals when subjected to the various forming and bending operations will, even when originally soft, acquire a sufiicient degree of elasticity to meet the requirements.

It is to be understood, of course, that while various stages of manufacture have been described, that these stages are not necessarily reached successively nor in the exact order mentioned. The exigencies of manufacture will be controlling as to sequence of operations, and with these I am not concerned, as they are not essential to my invention. The description herein however seeks to analyze the process into its elements, which may be carried out in any sequence such as found necessary or convenient, or may even be carried out simultaneously or substantially so, if the skill of the tool maker makes this possible.

Although securing thread may be applied to the buttons in the manner hereinabove described, that of course does not preclude their attachment in the ordinary'manner, that is by inserting the thread directly through the opening 26 either by means of a needle or otherwise. Where this latter method is to be practiced there is no need of the hook construction of Figures 1 to 8, and for this reason a modification of my invention, shown in Figures 9 and 10, will be found convenient.

Figure 9 shows a modified blank corresponding to the showing of Figure 2, and having a body portion 42 similar to the body portion l2 of Figure 1, and having extensions 45 projecting from said body portion, each extension being shown as having at its end a ring shaped portion 46 provided with an opening 48 into which'the securing thread may be inserted. The extensions 44 are then bent in the manner indicated in Figures 6 and '7, whereby the article shown in Figure 10 results.

While I have herein shown and described two embodiments of my invention it will be understood that the same may be embodied in many other forms, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit thereof. The disclosure herein is intended to be by way of illustration merely and it not to be interpreted in a limiting sense, and it is to be understood that I do not limit myself in any way other than as called for by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. A button made of an integral piece of sheet material, and having an integral body portion and thread receiving extensions on said body portion, said extensions having the inner portions thereof in substantially parallel relation to the body portion and having their outer portions projecting outwardly from said body portion in adjacent spaced parallel relation, and the outer ends of said outer portions being free and being provided with oppositely directed thread-receiving hooks having their planes parallel and having their terminal portions bent toward each other and the extreme free end of each hook being in contact with an intermediate portion of the other hook.

2. A button made of an integral piece of sheet material, and having a body portion and thread receiving extensions on said body portion, said extensions having the inner portion thereof in substantially parallel relation to the body portion and having their outer portions projecting outwardly from said body portion in adjacent spaced parallel relation, and the outer ends of said outer portions being free and being provided with oppositely directed thread-receiving hooks each having its terminal portion bent out of the plane of the hook and toward the other hook.

3. A button made of an integral piece of sheet material, and having a dished body portion and thread receiving extensions on said body portion, said extensions having the inner portions thereof in substantially parallel relation to the body portion and having their outer portions projecting outwardly from the concave side of said body portion in adjacent spaced parallel relation, and the free outer ends of said outer portions being provided with oppositely directed thread-receiving hooks having their terminal portions bent toward each other and into contact with an intermediate portion of the other hook, and said extensions and hook portions being arched convexly outward.

ROBERT E. MILLER. 

